Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Fuzzy Math

I heard a radio montage today, so I'm not sure who exactly said this (I think it was Tony Kornheiser) (You'd like him if you like Jim Rome but wish he was smart, funny or interesting) He said that "Sometimes one plus one equals three"

He used peanut butter and jelly as an example. Peanut butter is good. Jelly is good. Put them together and they're great. I'm not sure I agree. I say that if Peanut butter = 1 and Jelly = 1 then Peanut butter & Jelly = 1.5. That's just my opinion on the sloppy sandwich though. I do agree that sometimes two people can come together and equal more than two. I know that Annie makes me a better man and a better dad. I know that a team of five that works well together can do far more than five individuals.

I once said that our team was actually getting stronger because a few people had quit. I told our team that it was addition by subtraction and I remember one guy looking at me like I had on a Frankie says Relax T-shirt. He'd never heard the expression and didn't quite understand that sometimes asking someone to leave makes the group better. You see it in sports all the time. If you get rid of a great player that brings down the work ethic of those around him....now the average players aren't working as hard...and now the team isn't getting the little things done that make them succesful...even though the great player still has great stats.

Sometimes we point to ministry that's huge and use it to rationalize our lack of real community or depth. We don't have to get close to people as long as we impress from a distance enough to attract the crowds. It's the curse of growth. It's the curse of bad leadership. It's the curse of small thinking. One of my favorite quotes from E.M. Bounds is "God is not concerned with programs, He's concerned with people"

Unfortunately it's much harder to invest in people's lives. A small group is often much more work a big group. Putting together a cool show is much easier than sitting across from someone and listening to their story. I believe that one conversation might be more significant than the 400 people who came to your "world's biggest Jenga party".

Numbers don't always tell the real story.

Numbers can lie. I once had a four tell me he slept with Lindsay Lohan. Whatever.